''Shake Some Action'' is the fourth studio album by American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band the

Flamin' Groovies Flamin' Groovies is an American rock band that formed in San Francisco in 1965, originally co-led by Roy Loney and Cyril Jordan. After the Groovies released three albums, on Epic ('' Supersnazz'') and Kama Sutra (''Flamingo'' and '' Teenage Head' ...

. The album was released in June 1976 by

Sire Records Sire Records (formerly Sire Records Company) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Records. History Beginnings The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehrer ...

. The title ''Shake Some Action'' originates from a line in the 1965 film ''

None but the Brave is a 1965 war film directed by Frank Sinatra, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. Produced by Tokyo Eiga, Toho, and Artanis Productions (credited as Sinatra Enterprises), it was the first film international co-production between Japan and t ...

''.

Background and recording

''Shake Some Action'' was the first album by the newly reconstituted version of the Flamin' Groovies, who had returned from a five-year hiatus during which lead singer

Roy Loney Roy Loney (April 13, 1946 – December 13, 2019) was an American rock musician, best known as the original lead singer of the Flamin' Groovies. The Groovies original line-up issued releases on Epic Records and Kama Sutra Records, which ''Rolling ...

departed the band, leaving guitarist

Cyril Jordan Cyril Jordan (born August 31, 1948 in San Francisco) is a guitarist and founding member of San Francisco cult band the Flamin' Groovies. Jordan founded the band in 1965, playing with them until they initially disbanded in 1992. His song "Shake S ...

as its de facto leader. During that period, the Groovies had released three singles, all recorded in 1972 while the band was living in the UK, under contract to

United Artists Records United Artists Records was an American record label founded by Max E. Youngstein of United Artists in 1957 to issue movie soundtracks. The label expanded into other genres, such as easy listening, jazz, pop, and R&B. History Genres In 1959, ...

, and being produced by

Dave Edmunds David William Edmunds (born 15 April 1944) is a Welsh singer-songwriter, guitarist and record producer. Although he is mainly associated with pub rock and new wave, having many hits in the 1970s and early 1980s, his natural leaning has alwa ...

.Jordan, Cyril. Liner notes to ''Slow Death'' (2002). Retrieved 5 December 2017. Two of the songs from those sessions (the title track and "You Tore Me Down") eventually ended up on this album. The band drastically reshaped their musical style, stripping down the

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

and

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western music ...

influences of their previous work in favor of a more retro, guitar-oriented

power pop Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, an energetic performance, and ch ...

style emulating that of the 1960s

British Invasion The British Invasion was a cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s, when rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of British culture became popular in the United States and significant to the rising "counterculture" on b ...

scene. The new band took to wearing velvet-collared three-piece suits and Cuban heels in an attempt to recreate the fashion sense of the era. In an interview with ''

ZigZag A zigzag is a pattern made up of small corners at variable angles, though constant within the zigzag, tracing a path between two parallel lines; it can be described as both jagged and fairly regular. In geometry, this pattern is described as a ...

'' magazine, Jordan stated that the band "just wanted to get back to the flash of that era, which were the best years, as far as I'm concerned."

Release and reception

In a contemporary review of ''Shake Some Action'',

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

of ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...

'' felt that the Flamin' Groovies, without Roy Loney and having remodelled themselves as "an English pop-revival band", now "get their kicks playing dumb", and that while the album contained good songs, "only cultists will ever hear them." In the United States, ''Shake Some Action'' reached number 142 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

albums chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include re ...

. The album was released to a much greater reception in the United Kingdom, then in the early stages of the

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

era. Newly based in England, the reformed Flamin' Groovies found itself aligned with the burgeoning punk scene, along with the likes of bands such as the

Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United ...

and the

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they were one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music. They were responsible for ...

. Retrospectively, Ian S. Port of ''

San Francisco Weekly ''SF Weekly'' was a free alternative weekly newspaper founded in the 1970s in San Francisco, California. It was distributed every Thursday, and was published by the San Francisco Print Media Company. The paper has won national journalism awards, ...

'' states that ''Shake Some Action'' "influenced the rise of power pop and punk in America, and remains a vital document of that era." In a retrospective review of the album, Mark Deming of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

opined that "if ''Shake Some Action'' was the first salvo from the new and improved Flamin' Groovies, it also demonstrated that this edition of the band had as much promise as the Loney-fronted group," calling the title track "a brilliant evocation of the adventurous side of British rock circa 1966 ...

hich Ij ( fa, ايج, also Romanized as Īj; also known as Hich and Īch) is a village in Golabar Rural District, in the Central District of Ijrud County, Zanjan Province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also ...

by its lonesome served as a superb justification for The Groovies' new creative direction." Joe Tangari of ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

'' wrote that ''Shake Some Action'' "is in every sense both a comeback and a re-invention, and it's been rightly championed by collectors and critics extolling its effortless pop perfection." In 2014, the title track was one of the ten selected by

Greil Marcus Greil Marcus (born June 19, 1945) is an American author, music journalist and cultural critic. He is notable for producing scholarly and literary essays that place rock music in a broader framework of culture and politics. Biography Marcus wa ...

for his book ''The History of Rock 'n' Roll in Ten Songs'':

Track listing

Personnel

;Flamin' Groovies *

- guitar, vocals * Chris Wilson - vocals, guitar * James Ferrell - guitar * George Alexander - bass * David Wright - drums * Danny Mihm - drums on 1, 5

Cover versions

The title song was covered by Cracker for the soundtrack to the 1995 film ''

Clueless ''Clueless'' is a 1995 American coming-of-age teen comedy film written and directed by Amy Heckerling. It stars Alicia Silverstone with supporting roles by Stacey Dash, Brittany Murphy and Paul Rudd. It was produced by Scott Rudin and Robert La ...

''. The

Newtown Neurotics The Newtown Neurotics (later just The Neurotics) are an English punk rock group formed in Harlow, Essex, England, in 1979. They are noted for their openly political music. History As The Newtown Neurotics, the band began their career playing ...

live album ''Kickstarting a Backfiring Nation'' features “Shake Some Action” redone as “Take Strike Action.”.Jack Rabid, "Newtown Neurotics", Trouser Press
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Yo La Tengo Yo La Tengo (YLT; Spanish for "I have her") is an American indie rock band formed in Hoboken, New Jersey, in 1984. Since 1992, the lineup has consisted of Ira Kaplan (guitars, piano, vocals), Georgia Hubley (drums, piano, vocals), and James McNew ...

performed "You Tore Me Down" on their album '' Fakebook''.

The Hitmen The Hitmen are an Australian hard rock band formed in November 1977 by long-term members, Johnny Kannis on lead vocals and Chris Masuak on lead guitar as Johnny and the Hitmen. The group went through numerous line up changes in its first run ...

have a recorded live version of the song on their compilation album ''Dancing Time '78-'79''. The take is from Live at The Local Inn, Ryde, September 1979.

References

External links

Audio only video of the song ''Shake Some Action'' on YouTubeRemastered audio only video of said song on YouTubeOfficial site at RHINO
{{Authority control 1976 albums Flamin' Groovies albums Sire Records albums Albums recorded at Rockfield Studios Albums produced by Dave Edmunds Philips Records albums